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| Joe Bakewell. |
INEQUALITY.
Have we
become too efficient for our own good? We produce our basic needs (food,
shelter, clothing) with a fraction of the labor and associated resources that
were needed just prior to WW2. Think of the telephone operators, the
accounting clerks, the way laundry is done, and the automation in factories of
every type. In approximately 100 years, farming has reduced its share of
our labor force by ten times.
Much of the
freed-up resources (labor, materials, and energy) have been redeployed in new
industries. Interestingly, many of these are aimed at improving efficiencies
even more. One result has been the addition of trillions of dollars to our
economy. Another has been an alarming growth in inequality in our society and
businesses.
Unfortunately,
our politicians benefit directly from the above by accepting large payments
from the winners in the growing inequality afflicting our country. They use the
money to fund constant election campaigns during which they offer comforting
but nonsensical solutions. Most of these consist of some form of
redistribution—tax the rich, give to the poor etc. These can’t work for several
reasons: you can’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg (especially when
your paycheck is involved), and wealth comes from owning the means to produce
it.
It's this
‘means of production’ we need to focus on. As a practical matter, it can’t be
redistributed but new additions can be encouraged in other hands and we can do
a much better job of encouraging competition. Note here that there is a clear
correlation between competition and investments in productivity improvement.
Clearly, not
everyone is capable of managing ‘the means of production’ but why not offer a
tax free program encouraging managers and investors to start enterprises to be
taxed at a later date? Student loans can be encouraged for those seeking the
skills necessary to feed new enterprises (You owe 10% of your gross for ten
years).
I could go on
with other ideas including some for the benefit of those who for many reasons
are not capable of joining in any programs aimed at economic growth and
lessening inequality. Unfortunately, nothing remotely like the foregoing is
possible until special interest corruption is dead. Will you, thinking to at
least make a small improvement, vote again to keep the SYSTEM in place?
Please, if
you can’t bring yourself to write in an anti-corruption protest, do the rest of
us a favor and don’t vote.
Joe Bakewell
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